Dojo Rope-a-Dope
by L1701E
Summary: One-Shot. Set after "Rising Starrs!" The Starr Brothers meet the Blind Master for the first time! Read and Review please!


**Dojo Rope-A-Dope**

 **Disclaimer: GI Joe belongs to Hasbro. Paul and Craig Starr are mine. The Blind Master belongs to Red Witch.**

 **Author's Note: This is set shortly after "Rising Starrs!"**

 **The Pit**

Two teenage boys with long wild black hair and chocolate brown eyes walked towards the building. The two were twin brothers, with an unusual feature: Over the left eyes were two birthmarks in the shapes of five-pointed stars, slightly resembling the facial makeup of one Paul Stanley of Kiss. One boy's birthmark was purple, and the other was black.

"What a funny building," One of the boys remarked, the one with the black star. He was wearing a black leather jacket with silver studs on the lapels and small blunt spikes on the shoulders over a Megadeth t-shirt, blue jeans with the right knee torn that were held up by a studded belt, and a pair of boots with steel toes.

 _ **Darkstar. Real Name: Craig Allman Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers: Hypnosis, purple energy beams from eye, telepathic link with twin brother Paul.**_

"It's a dojo, Craig," The other boy, the one with the purple star, chuckled. He was clad in a KISS T-shirt with a purple bandanna around his neck, and purple jeans. His hands were covered by black biker gloves and wrists were adorned with studded bands. "They're where people learn martial arts. Haven't you ever seen any martial arts movies?"

 _ **Starchild. Real Name: Paul Stanley Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers: Hypnosis, purple energy beams from eye, telepathic link with twin brother Craig.**_

"I've seen my fair share, Paul. I'm not an idiot," Craig grunted. "It's just...what the hell is a place like this on a military base?" Paul shrugged.

"Well, this place is not a regular base," Paul unintentionally rhymed. "Remember? That's what Althea told us when we agreed to join the Misfits."

"Don't remind me," Craig sighed.

"Don't tell me you still have doubts about these guys."

"You think?" Craig grunted as the boys reached the door. "These people are crazy, Paul!"

"Not much more crazy than the streets of Los Angeles, if you ask me," Paul shrugged. "Besides, aren't you at the least curious to see what it looks like on the inside?" Craig sighed.

"Alright, let's go." The two boys carefully peeked into the dojo. "Looks like a regular dojo to me, Paul," Craig whispered. True to the young mutant's statement, it was a typical dojo, complete with rules written in scrolls on the walls, and a wall of weapons. They also noticed a man. "Hey, who's that guy?" Paul blinked. He was a muscular African-American man who wore a white gi with a black belt, and a white headband. He was practicing some sword katas with a katana. The two boys watched him swing and slash at the air.

"Oh, Althea told us about him, remember?" Paul reminded, his voice a whisper. "That's the Blind Master."

"Oh yeah, him," Craig remembered. "Makes you wonder how a blind man can do martial arts, though."

"Very well, thank you," The Blind Master answered with a mirthful smile. "Come on in, boys. And take your shoes off first. Shoes are not worn in this dojo." The boys looked at each other in shock.

"How the hell did he hear us?" Craig gaped. "We were whispering!"

"Being blind, my other four senses got stronger to compensate," The Blind Master explained as the boys stepped into the dojo and removed their shoes. "And I also sensed your _ki._ "

"Ki? What the hell is he on?" Craig grunted.

"Ki is the natural energy that flows through the body," The Blind Master explained. "It's in every living being. Many cultures have their own term for ki. The Chinese call it qi, with a Q, the Hawaiians call it mana, the Greeks called it pneuma, and here in the West, it was called vital energy."

"Ki, like in _Dragon Ball_?" Paul blinked. "In the show, Goku can fire this beam called the Kamehameha Wave. It's made up of ki."

"Something like that," Blind Master chuckled. "I have heard some martial artists can do some...interesting things with ki." Paul grinned widely.

"Neat!"

"He's kidding, right?" Craig grunted.

"You'd be surprised," The Blind Master smiled. "My apologies for not introducing myself. My name is Gabriel Moore, but I'm called the Blind Master around here for obvious reasons."

"Nice to meet you," Paul shook the Blind Master's hand. "My name is Paul Starr, and this is my brother Craig."

"Ah, you must be those two new Misfits the kids found in LA," The Blind Master remembered. Paul grinned widely.

"That's us!"

"Yeah, yeah," Craig grunted, a scowl on his face. "The Misfits managed to convince Paul to join them, and I got dragged along for the ride."

"I agreed to join the Misfits, and Craig came alone because he wanted to watch my back," Paul corrected. "He worries about me, he just doesn't want to admit it."

"Dammit, Paul!"

"Heh heh," the Blind Master chuckled. "Brotherly love. I know that well." Craig glared at the martial artist angrily.

"Take it easy, bro," Paul patted his twin's shoulder. "What do you do here, sir?"

"Martial arts instruction." the Blind Master explained. "I help teach the Joes and the Misfits to fight."

"Heh heh, really?" Craig snickered. "Like we need that."

"That's cool!" Paul hopped into a stance. "I took judo as a kid. And some aikido."

"Nice," The Blind Master complimented. "Those arts are good for a kid like you." Paul blinked in confusion as Craig leaned on a wall, crossing his arms.

"Like me?"

"Yes. I can sense it in your ki. You are a gentle person, someone who doesn't like to pick fights with other people." Craig rolled his eyes.

"No kidding."

"Pretty much," Paul admitted with a blush, getting out of his stance and rubbing the back of his head shyly. "Craig is the fight-picker out of us."

"Streets of LA," Craig smirked. "No better place to learn to fight."

"You ever had any formal training?" The Blind Master asked Craig. The young mutant shrugged.

"Not really. I have watched a lot of martial arts movies, though."

"You can't learn martial arts from watching Bruce Lee movies, Craig!" A laughing Paul teased good-naturedly.

"He's right, kiddo," The Blind Master chuckled.

"Well, I have my powers, but I also like using this," Craig pulled out his nightstick from his jacket. "A cop gave it to me. He was very nice."

"He stole it from a police officer," Paul corrected. Craig rolled his eyes.

"Well, he _was_ intending to use it to make an omelet out of my skull and brain," Craig reminded. "Lots of cops in Los Angeles have this idea in their little heads that they are gods and can do whatever they want simply because they have little badges."

"Disgraceful," Blind Master shook his head with disapproval. Craig growled.

"You listen here, Joe!" Craig snapped. "You have no idea, pal! Your Joe ass has no idea-!"

"I meant the cops' behavior," The Blind Master clarified. "Disgraceful." Craig blinked.

"Oh."

"Yes, your aura tells me a lot about you, young man," The martial artist indicated. "Your aura shows a rebellious nature. A lot of anger. A natural fighter."

"I can give a good brawl," Craig smirked.

"I would like to see that," Blind Master smiled. Craig blinked incredulously.

"Seriously? You wanna take me on in a fight?"

"Ohhhh, dear," Paul winced. "You shouldn't have done that, Mr. Blind Master, sir. Craig can be pretty vicious in a fight."

"Don't you worry, son," Blind Master reassured. "I can handle your brother."

"Heh heh, you're gonna get a beatin', Stevie Wonder." Craig mocked as he put up his fists.

"Uh, Craig? I don't think the Joes would have a blind guy teach martial arts if he didn't know how to do it."

"Shaddap." Craig grunted, cracking his knuckles and remaking his fists. Paul smiled and took a seat. He was going to enjoy this.

"I tell you what, son." Blind Master smiled, making a "come at me" gesture. "I'll give you a free shot."

"Heh. You're too kind, Stevie Wonder. I'll keep it in mind when I thrash you." Craig took his shot, only for the blind man to duck.

"HAI!" The Blind Master, moving with amazing speed, grabbed Craig's arm, and tossed him to the ground.

"Agh! Hey!" Craig growled in frustration as he got to his feet. "Hey, wait a minute! That's not fair! You said I had a free shot!"

"I _said_ you could take a free shot, kiddo." Blind Master smiled, going back into a stance. "I didn't say I'd let you hit me."

"Read the fine print, bro!" Paul teased.

"Paul, shut up!" Craig snapped. His star-covered eye briefly flashed lightly. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Stevie Wonder!" He charged and threw some more punches, the blind man ducking every one of them.

"You fight with anger." He lectured. "You have a lot of rage in you, your _ki_ showed me that. You have to learn to harness that rage within you. You let it overcome you in battle."

"I'm mad because your talking is pissing me off!" Craig snapped, lashing out with his left fist. The Blind Master caught the fist, and twisted Craig's arm. The young mutant hissed and grunted, but refused to cry out. The martial artist then shoved the young mutant away.

"Told you, Craig!" Paul called out. Craig shot his twin a quick glare, and then pulled out his nightstick. He twirled it around in his fingers.

"I'm sure this old nightstick has seen some beatings in its time." Craig smirked. "Wouldn't mind seeing how many bones of yours I can break with this thing."

"This guy has probably faced off against Cobra troopers with guns and those Dreadnok bikers with chainsaws and machetes, bro." Paul remarked. "I don't think your nightstick scares him."

"You are not helping!" Craig snapped.

"Your brother does have a point." Blind Master smiled. "I have faced off against some very bad people. You are a small fry." Craig's face twisted in rage, his black star-covered eye glowing a red-hot purple.

"I'll show _you_ who's a small fry, punk!" Craig yelled, swinging his nightstick at the Blind Master. "Hold still!" Another swing. A miss. "Dammit!" The Blind Master ducked and rolled out of the way of an attempted axe-like blow from Craig. "For a blind man, you sure can dodge me well. I'm begging to think that blind thing is a con you're pulling."

"Nope. Legit blindness here." Blind Master pulled down his sunglasses, revealing his eyes were milky white. "If you're good, I just may tell you how that happened."

"I don't care! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Craig charged the Misfit combat instructor, but he got thrown to the ground. The action made Craig drop his nightstick. Craig then lashed out with a kick to the Blind Master's leg, making the marital artist wince and grunt, giving the angry mutant a window to get to his feet. The former gang member further capitalized on the opportunity and speared the man to the ground.

"Oof!"

"Not so tough now, are you, huh?!" Craig taunted as he laid some punches on the Joe. "Told you, Stevie Wonder! Best place to learn to fight is on the streets of LA!"

"You got potential, kid..." Blind Master critiqued as he shoved Craig off of him and got to his feet. "But you need to control your rage."

"I'm getting _real_ tired of you and your mouth!" Craig roared in frustration. "You said you wanted to fight me! Well come on then, Stevie Wonder! You can't kick my ass!"

 _Craig, stop this!_ Paul pleaded in Craig's head. _You are letting him needle you! That's what he wants!_

 _Paul, stay out of my head!_ Craig demanded angrily. _You know damn well I don't like this telepathy crap!_ He quickly shook his head.

"Very well. HAI!" The Blind Master lashed out with a roundhouse, which Craig managed to dodge. Craig responded with an uppercut, but that was a miss, too. Paul winced as he saw the two try and trade blows.

"Be careful, Blind Master!" Paul called out. "Craig is a tricky one!"

"Who the hell's side are you on, man?!" Craig snapped, only to take a kick from the Blind Master. 

"Never turn your eyes away from the enemy." The elder martial artist advised.

"Oh, don't you worry." Craig growled as he got to his feet, his star-covered eye glowing an angry hot purple. "I learn from my mistakes!"

 _ **Fzzap!**_

"Craig!" Paul gasped. A powerful purple laser erupted from Craig's eye. The Blind Master leapt out of the way of the beam, and it hit the wall. "Craig, are you crazy?!"

"Ah, I was told about your powers, son." Blind Master remembered. "I'm surprised you didn't try to hypnotize me."

"Hypnosis is more of Paul's thing, Stevie Wonder!" Craig growled. "I've more of the offensive type."

 _ **Fzzap! Fzzap! Fzzap!**_

The young mutant fired more bursts of energy from his eye, but the martial artist managed to leap, duck, and dodge his way past the laser bursts. "Dammit!" The former gang member cursed in frustration. "Hold still!"

"You're aiming at where I _am_." Blind Master smirked. "You should be trying to aim at where I _will_ be."

"Don't you try to tell me what to do!" Craig roared, his eye glowing hotly.

"Craig, enough!" Paul raced towards his brother and grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm getting real tired of Stevie Wonder over here!" Craig roared. He whipped his head around at Paul. "And I'm going to blast you if you don't get your damn hand off my shoulder."

"That's not going to happen." Paul shook his head, frown on his face. "You know your powers cannot hurt me. You can't hypnotize me, and your laser at its strongest will only tickle me at worst." Craig's shoulders heaved with his breath. "You have to stop this." Craig growled and pulled his shoulder out of his brother's hand.

"And why should I? This guy wanted a piece of me so badly..."

"You let him get under your skin." Paul shook his head. "He does have a point, bro."

"About what?"

"You let your anger get the better of you sometimes." Paul reminded.

"He _is_ right." The Blind Master nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with a towel. "You do have potential as a brawler, but you need to learn to calm down."

"You spend a long time with this guy, and you will have anger issues too, pal." Craig cracked, jerking his thumb at Paul. Paul only rolled his eyes with a smile.

"You know you adore me, brother of mine."

"Whatever."

"As one of the Joes, and one of the Misfits' combat instructors, it's my job to help make sure you kids can protect yourselves with ways other than your super-powers." The blind martial artist explained.

"That makes sense." Paul nodded, looking at Craig. "You once said having superpowers is a cheap way out."

"It can be." Craig nodded. "I've been fighting well before my powers emerged. I'm more used to using my fists."

"Indeed." Blind Master nodded. "Since you boys are going to be part of the Misfits, I'm going to help train you. I think you especially have potential, Craig. But your anger tends to take hold of you." Paul nodded.

"He's right, it does." Craig sighed at Paul's comment.

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered. "I guess I have to work on it, huh?"

"That's what we're here for." Blind Master smiled, offering his hand. Craig shook it.

"Bring it on, Stevie Wonder."

 _ **Thanks for Reading!**_


End file.
